Such important messages were relayed at the recent PowerGen & DistribuTECH Africa 2017 held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. With 75 international exhibitors and over 2 800 delegates in attendance, only good – surely – will come out of it.

Host utility Eskom's new Interim Chairman, Zethembe Khoza, said that the spirit of progress, innovation, partnership and integrated advancement of our industry will help us unite as a single African super grid.

George Njenga, Regional Executive, Gold sponsor GE Power South Africa, said power sector progress and innovative business models across Africa were cause for optimism with new technologies and digital solutions – including the Internet of Things and data analytics – finding a place in the pan-African power sector.

And there were many more great messages.

• ‘Africa is the new nuclear frontier, the optimal energy mix’.• ‘We have to look at reliability and affordability, but it’s also important to have a low carbon emissions technology in place and to look at the benefits when it comes to industrialisation, localisation and job creation. We therefore need to look at a mix that can balance these factors’.• ‘A country like South Africa, with one of the highest radiation levels in the world, we need to take advantage of solar’.• ‘We also have coal for baseload power, but it’s important that when we use our coal resources, we use clean technology’.• ‘Emerging technologies such as gas can also support baseload power'.

However, I thought that this year there was an air of caution and a sense of uncertainty as to what the future holds. This underlying mindfulness may have been influenced by South Africa’s Minister of Public Enterprises, Lynne Brown, having to allude to the fact that the country’s power utility is ‘allegedly’ steeped in corruption and that investigations were underway.

As a potential investor ... how would this make you feel?

‘Til next time!

Wendy IzgorsekEditor, Electricity+ControlTel. +27 (0) 11 622 4770

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